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At least 10 civilians have reportedly been killed and many more injured in a gunfight between Iraqi-US forces and anti-government fighters in Iraq’s Maysan province near the Iranian border, authorities say.

US and Iraqi forces said they came under fire as they approached the village of Ali al-Sharqi, southeast of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, on Friday.

There were conflicting claims about the death toll. The US said five fighters were killed, while local officials said as many as 10 civilians died. …

Maytham Lafta, a local official, said at least 10 “innocent people” were killed, including two women.

A provincial police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to release the information, also said 10 people were killed.

A secular Iraqi political coalition has suspended its election campaign over a ban on some of its candidates, as blasts hit political offices across Baghdad: here.

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New studies reveal that the social divide has grown starker in the current economic crisis, and that the US is the most unequal of the advanced economies, with great wealth and extreme poverty having become practically hereditary conditions: here.

The Obama administration released projections of mass unemployment extending for years, while congressional Democrats debate a “jobs” bill that will do nothing to alleviate the social crisis confronting millions of people in the US: here.

On February 1, 2010, President Obama released his proposed budget for fiscal year 2011, which includes funding cuts to both the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH): here.

“The money powers prey upon the nation in times of peace, and conspire against it in times of adversity. The banking powers are more despotic than a monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, more selfish than bureaucracy. They denounce as public enemies, all who question their methods or throw light upon their crimes.” – Abraham Lincoln

The February 11 Franco-German pledge to bail out Greece threatened to unravel yesterday amid criticism from the Greek government, and as European officials demanded that Athens make further budget cuts: here.

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After years of political lobbying at the highest levels, BAe Systems and the US and UK authorities have dropped their long-running investigations into bribery and corruption related to arms contracts: here.